2006-07 Men's Basketball

Bluffton 76, UC Clermont 74

BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Beavers defeated UC Clermont to claim the McDonald's of Bluffton
Holiday Tournament championship in Founders Hall. Clutch shooting down the stretch
helped the Beavers to a 76-74 victory over Clermont. Bluffton improved to 11-1 with
its 10th straight win and third consecutive McDonald's championship while Clermont
fell to 10-9.

Bluffton jumped out to an early 11-6 run behind the shooting of tournament MVP Mike Anthony (Ohio City/Delphos St. Johns) as he buried two consecutive shots.

The Cougars used a three from Seth Steele to take a 22-20 lead with seven minutes left in the first half. The two teams went
back in forth trading baskets until Brad Hosler scored two of his 12 first-half points to give Clermont a 31-30 lead.

Another basket by Steele and a free throw by Hosler gave the Cougars a four-point
advantage just before halftime. With just a few ticks left on the clock, junior Nate Overmyer (Payne/Wayne Trace) pulled up just past the timeline and drilled a three to make
the score 34-33 in favor of Clermont at the break.

Bluffton continued its second half domination as the Beavers went on a 19-8 run to
start the second half and take a 52-42 lead with just over 12 minutes left in the
contest. Anthony continued to be the team's go-to-guy as he dropped in nine points
during that stretch.

The Cougars, behind the inside-out tandem of Hosler and John Stone, cut the lead in
half with six minutes to play. Back-to-back buckets by Hosler and two Stone triples
made the score 64-59 in favor of Bluffton.

Overmyer and sophomore Colt Cunningham (Powell/Worthington Christian) hit big shots with the game hanging in the balance
to help the Beavers hold off a late surge by Clermont. Overmyer hit two of his career-high
six three-pointers in the last two minutes, while Cunningham dropped in two free throws
and a jumper in traffic.

The Beavers were able to get to the line in the second half as they were 11-of-15
after being limited to four attempts in the first half. As a team they shot 45 percent
from the field, including 42 percent from downtown.

Overmyer came off the bench to lead Bluffton in scoring with 19 points, shooting 6-of-9
from beyond the arc. Anthony dropped in 18 points, while also pulling down a team-high
six rebounds. Cunningham was the only other Beaver to reach double figures in scoring
as he put up 15 on 6-of-12 shooting. Eric Schwieterman (St. Henry/St. Henry) and junior P.J. Juenger (Loveland/Archbishop Moeller) contributed with nine and eight points respectively.

Bluffton is set to face HCAC rival Transylvania on Wednesday, January 3, 2006. Tip-off
is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Founders Hall.